The Race for Solar

EE Times

A €7m project in Australia is aiming to develop large panel solar cells using low cost perovskite materials.

Perovskite solar cells are cheaper to produce and have a high absorption efficiency in sunlight, and can be engineered to result in various optical and electronic properties but struggle with lifetime. Perovskite solar cells or modules can also be used to boost standard silicon (Si) solar technology when engineered to absorb a spectral range that is complementary to the optical range of silicon cells. By stacking the perovskite solar cells or modules on top of Si solar cells, power conversion efficiencies above 30 percent can potentially be achieved, beating the best single junction Si solar cells.

Greatcell Solar, the Australian materials company formerly called Dyesol, has been awarded a AUS$6m (€4m) grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for the Perovskite Solar Cell Technology - Large Area Module Development Project.

The company is also raising a minimum of AUS$5m (€3.5m) as part of the project funding. This will enable Greatcell to accelerate the scale-up and prototyping activities to commercialise the company's technology.

The company is already working on a project for Large Area Perovskite Photovoltaic Material Coating on Glass Substrate over the next year with building products company CSR and its subsidiary CSR Viridian.